As the days pass, one thing that continues to blow my mind is just how BUSY life can get.

Let me be straight. I’m not one of those people who wear “busy’ like a badge of honour…  like it’s something that we should be proud of.

In fact, I’d love to be LESS busy, and have more time to stop and smell the roses – however these days, it just doesn’t seem to be an option,

With busy, comes countless thoughts going through our head all day long.

There are so many different things tugging us in different directions

Many days – tasks on my “to do” list go unchecked.

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that I am always trying to boost my productivity. I’m always trying to get more organized and be more efficient with my time.

Sometimes my productivity blows me away, while other days I get caught up in the weeds and would do anything for just a few more hours!

But lately, I’ve started to implement 5 little things into my daily routine that have done wonders for my productivity, leaving me feeling more satisfied at the end of the day. Naturally, I’ve decided to share them with you!

1. UNPLUG

Whether it be first thing in the morning, in the middle of the day, or before bed – each day I shut my phone down and unplug for a couple of hours.

I don’t know about you, but when when my phone is beside me, I am always tempted to check social media and find myself mindlessly scrolling. It’s such a waste of time.

It’s also nice to just shut off all the noise that comes with social media. It helps me be more productive and to clear my head!

2. GRATITUDE

This sounds a little corny, and truthfully, it’s taken me a while to get to the place where I can openly talk about the importance if gratitude but here I am!

Lately, I start and end my day thinking about all the things that are going right in our lives.

When you start and end your day with the positive elements of your life at the forefront of your mind, the crap that happens in-between takes less of a toll!

When you’re focused on all the things you have to be grateful for, you don’t get hijacked by the BS. It really helps keep things in perspective!

(Even if you think this sounds cheesy, I challenge you to try it for a couple days… you can thank me later!)

3. PLANNING SESSIONS

Even if it’s just for a few minutes, I plan out what I need to do each day. I use my organizer and separate my “to do” list by work and personal. Not only do I write down what I need to do,  I plan when I am going to do it.

I typically do this first thing in the morning while I enjoy my coffee! [If you’re interested in my morning routine – you can read all about it HERE]

I ALSO write down how I want to FEEL at the end of the day…  If you haven’t read Desire Map by Danielle Laporte – you should.

She talks about goal setting in terms of the feelings associated with achieving your goasl (stay with me here…)

According to Danielle, it’s not about achieving the goal, it’s about how achieving that goals makes us feel!  (Seriously guys, read the book)

Every morning I think about how I want to feel when I go to bed.

Do I want to feel productive, organized, efficient, relaxed, refreshed, healthy & fit? Once I’ve decided, I write it down in my planner and then move on with my day

Seriously, try it!

4. 100 SQUATS + 20 PUSH UPS

Look I’d love to tell you that I am an avid exerciser but that would be a bold face lie. Sometimes I am, but lately my exercise routine has been sporadic to non-existent!

However each day I do try and do 100 squats and 20 push ups. It helps me feel like I’m not a slug – and hey every little bit counts.

I’ll do 10 squats while I wait for the microwave, or I’ll lunge down the hall… sometimes I get a little crazy and drop and do 10 push ups (modified push-ups totally acceptable) 

I sit at a desk for most fo the day, so it’s nice to get up a move around!

5. BRAIN DUMP

When I am overwhelmed with “to dos” and have too many ideas floating around in my head, I take a take a blank piece of paper and write out EVERYTHING that I want to do.

All the details, all the thoughts, all the tasks – I let it all out!

Then I go through and decide what needs to be done right away, and what can wait until next week, next month, next year etc…

When I have too many “to dos” floating around in my head, I start to spin my tires and my productivity halts. The brain dump helps me clear my head and get focused!

– Jamie